What People of Faith Really Think About Homosexuality
Introduction by Ben Summerskill
Faith leaders in modern
At Stonewall we have long been sceptical about such claims, not least because many lesbian and gay people hold strong religious views themselves. It’s certainly true that many gay people do not attend religious services, or feel welcome within religious communities, or feel able to be themselves with people of faith. But this is perhaps understandable.
Living Together, a YouGov survey of more than 2000 people commissioned by Stonewall in 2006, found that more than half of British adults felt that religious attitudes were a prevalent cause of public prejudice against gay people. However, that polling also revealed that people of faith in modern
Mindful that some of the most vocal opposition to gay equality in recent years has come from religious leaders, Stonewall commissioned a series of focus groups to talk to people of faith themselves. These discussions – with Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Christian participants – show that many people of faith appear content to live, work and socialise with gay people and recognise a detachment between the purist religious viewpoints which so often colonise the public domain and the reality of their own lives. Some religious leaders may have created the impression that to be religious it is necessary to be prejudiced against gay people. Yet it is clear from this report that knowing, socialising and working with others reduces negative ideas about difference. This is a core principle of
community cohesion that emerges in examination of perceived tensions between so many different groups of people.
This leads to a stark conclusion. When it comes to religion and homosexuality in modern Britain, perhaps it is time to start listening to the voices of those many people of faith which have until now not been heard enough.
Click Here for "Love Thy Neighbour" Report published by Stonewall